1. Technical Field
The present invention relates in general to a method and system for data processing and, in particular, to a graphical user interface for a data processing system. Still more particularly, the present invention relates to a graphical user interface and method of operation in which a plurality of choices can be selected from a drop-down list in response to a single selection of the associated drop-down widget.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within data processing systems, user interface can be accomplished in a variety of ways. A now nearly universal format of user interface for personal computer systems and personal digital assistants (PDAs) is a graphical user interface (GUI), which provides a user with a graphical and intuitive display of information. Typically, the user interacts with a GUI display utilizing a graphical pointer, which a user controls utilizing a graphical pointing device, such as a mouse, track ball, glidepad, or stylus. Depending upon the actions allowed by the application or operating system software, the user can select a widget (i.e., a user-discernable feature of the graphical display such as an icon) by positioning the graphical pointer over the widget and making a selection utilizing the graphical pointing device.
The actions available to a user following selection of a widget can depend upon a number of factors, including the type of widget that was selected and the order of the selection in the current interaction scenario. For example, if the user selects a icon on the desktop or within a window with a single "click," the user can typically relocate the icon within the graphical display utilizing the well-known drag-and-drop technique. Alternatively, if the selected widget is a menu bar choice, a pull-down menu is typically displayed, permitting the user to make a single selection from among the choices listed in the pull-down menu. In response to either the selection of a point outside of the pull-down menu (indicating that the user does not wish to select any choice listed in the pull-down menu) or the selection of a pull-down menu choice, the pull-down menu closes automatically.
It is upon the behavior of a widget following selection that the present invention improves.